Srinagar: Security agencies in Kashmir are on tenterhooks after finding out that a highly trained group of 20 to 22 militants arrived in the Valley in the last two weeks on a special mission.
The group, sources say, does not belong to a particular outfit and has immediately spread across the Valley, especially north Kashmir, where militant attacks are already on the rise.
When contacted, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said that the government had reports about the group. "It is yet to be fully confirmed but we are working on the assumption that they are correct so as not to take chances," he said.
Sources said the security agencies were alarmed especially after they picked up a sudden increase in communications in north Kashmir which showed an increase in the number of militants. Further investigation, sources said, revealed the presence of a new group of 20 to 22 militants sent for a special mission. There is, however, no clue as to what could be the mission that this group has come to carry out.
Sources said the security agencies believe that the group infiltrated via Gurez sector -- an input contested by the Army. The J-K police, meanwhile, is worried about the "traffic" from the Nepal route too.
The exact identity of this new group of militants, too, is yet a mystery. Sources said that the input has led to an increase in surveillance and the security agencies are analysing every hint to ascertain the nature of a possible attack.
Chief Minister Abdullah said that there is no doubt that the new groups that infiltrate into Kashmir are of a higher quality. "We know that quality not quantity has been the focus of the infiltration," he said. He said the recent spurt in militant attacks is a direct fallout of the higher levels of infiltration in 2009. "It is still better that we go after them rather than let them choose a target and attack."
Source: 20-25 militants slip into Kashmir, on ?special mission? - 1 - National News ? News ? MSN India
The group, sources say, does not belong to a particular outfit and has immediately spread across the Valley, especially north Kashmir, where militant attacks are already on the rise.
When contacted, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said that the government had reports about the group. "It is yet to be fully confirmed but we are working on the assumption that they are correct so as not to take chances," he said.
Sources said the security agencies were alarmed especially after they picked up a sudden increase in communications in north Kashmir which showed an increase in the number of militants. Further investigation, sources said, revealed the presence of a new group of 20 to 22 militants sent for a special mission. There is, however, no clue as to what could be the mission that this group has come to carry out.
Sources said the security agencies believe that the group infiltrated via Gurez sector -- an input contested by the Army. The J-K police, meanwhile, is worried about the "traffic" from the Nepal route too.
The exact identity of this new group of militants, too, is yet a mystery. Sources said that the input has led to an increase in surveillance and the security agencies are analysing every hint to ascertain the nature of a possible attack.
Chief Minister Abdullah said that there is no doubt that the new groups that infiltrate into Kashmir are of a higher quality. "We know that quality not quantity has been the focus of the infiltration," he said. He said the recent spurt in militant attacks is a direct fallout of the higher levels of infiltration in 2009. "It is still better that we go after them rather than let them choose a target and attack."
Source: 20-25 militants slip into Kashmir, on ?special mission? - 1 - National News ? News ? MSN India
